This is
one of two electrical transmission line
towers under construction in Santa Marta
de Siquirres, Limón. The towers each
will be 100 meters tall, some 328 feet,
and part of the 112-kilometer Río
Macho-Moín power line.

Instituto Costarricense de
Electricidad photo

Illegal firearms
give holders perceived protection

By the
A.M. Costa Rica staff

The security ministry reported this week
that its officers confiscated 340 firearms
in the first four months of the year.

Not all the confiscations followed shootouts
like the one Monday in San Rafael Abajo de
Desamparados when a gunman fired on police.

Only 15 of the confiscated guns came from
drug raids. Almost always when the Fuerza
Pública and the Policía de Control de Drogas
officers conduct raids, they find weapons.
That makes sense. Drug dealers and producers
are big crime targets and keep weapons
around to protect themselves and their stash
of cash.

Expats can draw some conclusions from the
police report:

1. Plenty of people are carrying weapons
illegally. If police officers found more
than 300 weapons simply by stopping and
frisking individuals on the street, the
number of unregistered weapons must be much
higher.

2. A high percentage of these weapons are
carried for self-protection as are all sorts
of knives.

3. The poor and youngsters make their own
firearms. Police said the ministry
statistics show that some of the confiscated
weapons were made in Costa Rican workshops.
Several major criminal gangs also use the
services of specialists who can make guns
that then become untraceable.

Ministerio
de Seguridad Pública photo

One of many confiscated
illegal weapons.

The gangs also export these
specialists to other countries for the
same purpose.

4. The complex gun rules generally
can cause people to carry illegal firearms
instead of going through the lengthy
process to obtain permission from the
Ministerio de Seguridad Pública.
Frequently private guards are found with
illegal weapons.

5. Expats should remember the next time
they shout out the window of their car to
a driver who has cut them off that there
is a good chance the offending motorist is
packing a weapon.

Police said that they thought the man
arrested in Desamparados was a hitman
trying to commit a murder. They said the
man fired 18 shots at another individual
who is suspected to be a major drug
dealer.

The presumed victim was injured but lived.
He was hospitalized.

The gunman received a bullet in the leg
from police and also received medical
treatment.

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A.M.
Costa Rica's professional directory is
where business people who wish to reach
the English-speaking community may invite
responses. If you are interested in being
represented here, please contact the
editor.

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Drug police allege that on Tuesday they detained the
main drug dealer of Chiquita beach in Limón’s Puerto
Viejo.

Police from the Control de Drogas allege that the
60-year old man was selling indiscriminately to
foreign tourists. The man also apparently had a lot
of guns in his possession. One of the more unique
firearms was a revolver registered in the name of an
association called the “Amigos de las Aves,”
according to a preliminary report.

Police also said they seized a shotgun. The
Ministerio de Seguridad Pública believes the man in
custody sold cocaine and marijuana. The anti-drug
unit seized around 90 baggies of cocaine and
marijuana in addition to over $5,000 in colones and
dollars that officials believe was earned through
the sale of drugs.

The suspect has no prior criminal record but could
face up to 20 years in prison if charged and found
guilty, the ministry said.

Cooperative corruption case continues

By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff

The six members of the Instituto Nacional de
Formento Cooperativo arrested Tuesday had their
Wednesday court session delayed for unclear reasons.

The Poder Judicial issued a statement that said the
Fiscalía de Anticorrupción suspended the Wednesday
afternoon hearing and moved it to today. A spokesman
for the Poder Judicial did not say the hour in which
the hearing was to be held.

These six persons are charged with embezzlement,
influence against public finances, illicit
enrichment and bribery, according to Poder Judicial.
They are facing preventive detention before the
trials begin. All six held high positions within the
institution known as Infocoop, which judicial agents
said was in charge of promoting and developing
cooperatives at the national level.

One person arrested was the executive secretary of
the Consejo Nacional de Cooperativas. Another was
the board president for the institute and as leader
of the nation's coffee cooperative and yet another
was even the administrator of a periodical called La
Voz Cooperativa.

Investigators said they believe that money for
grants was given away to contacts close to the
suspected leader of this group. This was allegedly
done through manipulating appointments in Infocoop
to grant large amounts of money to those contacts.
In addition, minutes during meetings of the
cooperative were allegedly falsified and elections
of board members were allegedly manipulated as well,
according to Poder Judicial.

The losses for Infocoop are believed to be in the
range of at least 9 billion colons or around $16.1
million, based on estimates from the judiciary.

Some of the evidence seized in Wednesday’s raids
included: portfolio reports, audits, financial
statements, credit analyses, appraisals and Board of
Directors minutes. Over 160 agents from the Judicial
Investigating Organization participated in the raids
that occurred throughout the Central Valley and San
José. The Poder Judicial said that 17 people have
now been charged so far, but the prosecution is
requesting the aforementioned six to receive
preventive detention.

Under-educated can get driving
lessons

By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff

The road education directorate is opening up
classes for those persons who did not have an
education past the sixth grade.

In an announcement Wednesday, the Ministerio de
Obras Públicas y Transportes, which oversees
driver education courses in Costa Rica, said
that May is the month for people to learn the
rules of the road. The sites will be at the
headquarters of the Dirección General de
Educación Vial in San José as well as the sites
in Heredia, Alajuela and San Ramón.

The ministry said that the registration will
start next Monday and run until April 28. The
month-long course costs only 5,000 colons and
applicants must attend two classes each week
before taking the theoretical test, according to
officials. The test will not be an additional
charge.

The effort is for those persons who did not
complete their education to still be able to
obtain a driver’s license in a manner that
caters to the additional assistance those
persons may need, a statement from the ministry
said.

The requirements for enrolling are to present on
the first day of classes a certified document
from the regional education department
certifying that the applicant did not complete
the second cycle of their primary education.

There is even an allowance towards foreign
nationals as well. With foreigners, a
certificate from the education ministry of the
country of origin must be notarized by the
consulate of the applicant’s embassy indicating
an incompletion in one’s studies.

Officials emphasized that playing hooky won’t be
allowed either. Attendance upon registration is
mandatory pending any health emergency or death
in the family, according to the ministry.

Our reader's
opinion

Some
math on teams and the World Cup

Dear A.M. Costa Rica:

Your article Wednesday had one small error. It made
it look like CONCACAF would get an extraordinary
percentage of teams into the World Cup, Russia,
2018. You wrote: "This region with six teams
will send at least three teams to Russia. A fourth
spot is based on the results of a playoff with a
team elsewhere."

I just wanted to remind us that: This region
CONCACAF actually began with 35 countries, not six.

Round 1) Qualifying started in March 2015 with 14
games, when seven teams were eliminated.
Round 2) Then in June 2015, 20 more games, with 10
more countries eliminated.
Round 3) September 2015, with 12 more games, six
more countries eliminated.
Round 4) November 2015/March 2016 and September 2016
another 36 games, and eliminated 6 more countries.

So now, 29 members of CONCACAF have been eliminated
with 82 games having been played throughout North
& Central America, and the Caribbean Islands.

It's a very long process, and Costa Rica is pleased
to still be a part of the Final Round. In this
round, six teams known as 'The Hexagonal,’ play a
total of 30 games and then we get to, "This
region...will send at least three teams to Russia."
And maybe four!

Go Sele, Pura Vida.

Robert
Roman Ciudad Colón

News
from the Spanish-language pressTranslated
into English

Costa Rica
Report news feeds are disabled on archived
pages.

Have you
seen these stories?From A.M.
Costa Rica(Text version is HERE!)

Reflections regarding realities are the
current themes for these artists

By the A.M.
Costa Rica staff

Reflections in realities as embraced through
multi-dimensional art mediums are the themes behind
the two new exhibitions to be presented at the Costa
Rican Museo de Arte y Diseño Contemporáneo today.

“Partidas y Partituras” by Honduran artist Pável
Aguilar is a reflection on the immigrants returning
to Honduras after a failed attempt to reach the
United States on La
Bestia.

According to the Ministerio de Cultura y Juventud, La Bestia was
the network of freight trains in México taking
migrants towards the U.S. despite the result of the
journey often ending in tragedy.

According to Adriana Collado, the curator for the
exhibits, the work is presented in three acts with
the first one being what she calls “the
musicalization of silent dramas.” The second part
composes visuals of missing body parts and the
memory of the forgotten, Ms. Collado said.

“Finally, the cyclical history. We listen to the
Texas Philharmonic Orchestra tuning before a
concert: the pathetic symphony is to begin because
certainly today, there are thousands of immigrants
who have just started their departure toward exile,”
she said.

Ministerio de
Cultura y Juventud photo

Guillermo
Tovar explores the hidden corners of nature.

The other
exhibit showcasing the work of Costa Rican
artist Guillermo Tovar combines nature with
symbolism. Observing reality with the eyes of
the mind is the goal for Tovar with a look
into exploring other mediums of art such as
digital animation, tattooing and painting.

“Truth that can only be revealed to those who
learn to look beyond appearances and to
observe reality with other eyes,” Ms. Collado
explained in describing the exhibit.

The museum’s opening for the exhibit will be
tonight at 7 p.m.

Admission is free to attend the ceremony,
according to the cultural ministry. The normal
entrance fee for foreigners is $3, while
permanent residents and Costa Rican citizens
get in for 1,000 colons. The museum is open
from Tuesday until Saturday.

Costa Rica's food security is potentially
at risk, according to experts

By Rommel
Téllez of the A.M. Costa Rica staff

Exporting the best and most nutritious food while
consuming the imported and cheaper products could
jeopardize public health, social development and the
country's ability to nourish itself.

In other words, it may put at risk Costa Rica’s food
security, according to Alex Pacheco, professor of
Natural Resources at the Escuela de Agricultura de
la Región del Trópico Húmedo, located in Limón.

Food security is a term first coined in 1974 by the
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations.

It describes a country's ability to provide
nutritious food to its residents at any given time,
even in crisis.

Pacheco explains that even though food scarcity is
an unlikely scenario in the country, there might
exist a lack of nutritious quality on what Costa
Ricans eat, due to the fact that the best crops are
reserved for international markets.

“A lot of people rely on imported food because it
might be cheaper. However, low prices are low
because of trade agreements, subsidies, pesticides
or genetic manipulation.

That's the reason food grown miles away from here
may have competitive prices,” he said.

The professor argues that having access to food that
is not healthy and nutritious is not really the
concept of food security. He also explains that a
country whose residents eat what comes from afar,
loses its capacity to face unexpected changes in the
world and in the market.

“We have extensive crops of pineapple, coffee,
bananas, etcetera. Nevertheless, if for whatever
reason we lose access to the food we import right
now, we are not prepared and our diets are not based
on pineapple, coffee and bananas. Exporting provides
great socio-economic advantages, but we must make
sure that self-sustainable agriculture and
agro-ecology is taking place,” he said.

Pacheco
explained that, at the global level, the trend is to
encourage local and small
farmers to produce food that will be locally
consumed as well.
This becomes even more important in small
villages located in remote places, so that
residents don't depend on big cities to provide
their food.

“There is no such thing as food scarcity.
There is enough food for everyone, The reason many
people don't have access to it is just because of
the inefficient distribution channels, which makes
products more expensive and harder to get,” he
adds.

To make sure that Costa Rica doesn't fall
short on it's own capacity to provide aliments to
its citizens, the agricultural affairs office of the
legislative assembly is currently discussing a bill
that seeks exactly that: to encourage internal
consumption of locally produced food.

The bill 20.076 was introduced Aug. 23, and right
now has the support of 30 lawmakers from several
parties, according to Javier Cambronero, legislator
of Partido Acción Ciudadana.

“The proposed law will make agriculture-oriented
public institutions work together to empower small
producers and give them the tools to sell at
competitive prices. If approved, this law will
require the state to buy national production for all
the hospital networks, jails and school cafeterias,”
he said.

According to the latest report of Estado de la
Nación, a social research and analysis program, from
1998 to 2011, the country imported 73 percent of the
beans and 34 percent of the rice, the two main
ingredients of a typical Costa Rican diet.

In addition, a 2015 report of the food and
agriculture organization shows that Central America
increased its dependency of imported cereals, with
Costa Rica at the top of the list.

Between 2007 and 2012 the import of basic cereals in
the country came from United States, El Salvador,
Colombia, Nicaragua and China. In the same period,
97 percent of all rice came from the United States.

By Caitlin
Fouratt, professor of International Studies at California State University
in Long Beach

Costa Rica is often thought of as the “Switzerland of
the Americas.”

With a stable democracy and no standing army, the
small Central American country of 4.8 million is often
referred to as the exception to the conflict, violence
and poverty faced in other Latin American countries.
In particular, Costa Ricans pride themselves on their
strong health care and education systems.

But Costa Ricans have increasingly faced social and
economic challenges that threaten their exceptional
status. In response, many Costa Ricans have projected
their anxieties onto immigrants.

In 2005, a Costa Rican congressman named Ricardo
Toledo gave a passionate speech criticizing immigrants
who “come to kill our women; many of them come to rob
our banks; to rob our sons and daughters in the
streets.”

He called on Costa Rica to close its borders to
Nicaraguan immigrants. In response to this kind of
anti-immigrant attitude, the national assembly passed
a law that restricted residency, increased enforcement
and limited immigrants’ opportunities for integration.

That same year, a 25-year-old Nicaraguan immigrant
named Natividad Canda was mauled to death by two
Rottweilers. According to some reports, several
onlookers who witnessed the attack did nothing to help
him. Many Costa Ricans praised the dogs and condemned
the victim as an alleged criminal and illegal
immigrant.

Approximately 1,000 mostly Nicaraguan families were
being evicted from land they have been squatting on
since 2005.

While Costa Rica has since stepped back from the worst
of its explicitly xenophobic legislation, the
discriminatory spirit that led to that law being
passed still continues today.

In my research with Nicaraguan immigrants in San José,
Costa Rica, I find that Nicaraguans continue to face
widespread discrimination and major barriers to legal
status and access to social services.

Attitudes and behaviors that reject, vilify and
exclude immigrants often solidify national identity
when that identity is in crisis.

In Costa Rica, Nicaraguans make up 75 percent of
immigrants and represent around 7 percent of the total
population. They often work in agriculture,
construction and service sectors.

Nicaraguan migration to Costa Rica is not new, but
attitudes toward Nicaraguans have become more
prejudiced since the mid-20th century. Where
Nicaraguans are seen as inherently violent, Costa
Ricans see themselves as peace-loving.

Where Nicaraguans are seen as poor, illiterate and
uncultured, Costa Ricans see themselves as
middle-class and educated. Where Nicaraguans are
mestizo and dark-skinned, Costa Ricans are “white.”

The sense of difference and superiority felt by many
Costa Ricans has been reinforced by stereotypes of
Nicaraguans developed over decades of migration.

Nicaraguan
migration to Costa Rica goes all the way back to
colonial and 19th-century regional economic
developments.
Nicaraguan workers were instrumental to the rise
of the Costa

Caitlin Fouratt

Rican coffee industry, the
construction of its railroad and the establishment of the
multinational banana industry.
Later, during the Sandinista
Revolution and Contra war in the
1980s, Nicaraguans fled to Costa Rica
for both political and economic
reasons.

After the fall of the Sandinistas in 1990,
economic migration to Costa Rica

As Nicaraguan migration increased in
the 90s, Costa Rica’s exceptional welfare system was
weakened by cuts in public funding. Crowded classrooms
and long waits for health services were compounded by
perceptions of rising crime and economic downturns. As
Costa Ricans began to feel their privileges as
citizens decline, they projected their anxieties onto
Nicaraguan immigrants.

Nicaraguan migration began to represent a demographic,
cultural and racial threat to Costa Rican
exceptionalism.

Legal restrictions and widespread attitudes of
rejection continue. Nicaraguans still face
discrimination and barriers to services and legal
status.

For example, my colleague Koen Voorend and I have
found that Nicaraguan immigrants report being sent
extra paperwork or conflicting directions to access
health care or enroll children in school. Young people
report hiding their Nicaraguan origins from classmates
because of fear of being teased or bullied.

In health clinics, Nicaraguans say they are often
treated as ignorant or stupid by doctors and nurses.
Clinic staff ask for extra documentation or refuse
them care.

They also face discrimination, if not outright
violence, on the streets. Nicaraguan immigrants often
avoid speaking in public to avoid revealing their
accent. They worry about being harassed on the bus.
They stick close to home or work to avoid attracting
the attention of immigration authorities.

Meanwhile, civil society organizations, academics and
activists are working to create change. For example,
“What Unites Us” is a campaign against xenophobia in
Latin America and the Caribbean led by RET
International, an organization that works to protect
vulnerable young people through education.

The campaign is enlisting young people to discuss what
brings immigrants and citizens together. In
emphasizing what unites foreigners and nationals, the
campaign breaks down the dividing line between
deserving and undeserving, citizens and immigrants.

However, seeing what unites citizens and immigrants
will not eliminate xenophobia. Citizens still feel
that their way of life is under threat. When prized
institutions fail to address people’s real social and
economic problems, blaming immigrants serves as a
useful distraction and one that may gain traction in
the U.S. too.

Editor’s Note: This story originally
appeared on The Conversation, an
independent media organization.

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Imagine "a Hugo Chavez-type leader" in México, Sen.
Marco Rubio, a Republican from Florida, posited
during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Foreign
Relations, which he chairs. Invoking the former
populist leader of Venezuela was his way of
suggesting what might happen if the U.S. fails to
keep a good relationship with its neighbor, México.

México will hold a presidential election in 16
months. Rubio's worry, and that of both Democrats
and Republicans on his committee, is that worsening
relations between the U.S. and México could push
voters into supporting a populist candidate.

Testifying at Wednesday's hearing entitled "The
U.S.-Mexico Relationship: Advancing Security and
Prosperity on Both Sides of the Border," former
Democratic New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said the
relationship between the two countries is now in
tatters.

Richardson cited reasons for this: the proposed
border wall, the Trump administration's declared
intent to renegotiate the North American Free Trade
Agreement and the prospect of stepped up
deportations of undocumented Mexicans living in the
U.S.

México is the third-largest trading partner of the
United States, and that while there is a $60 billion
trade deficit in México's favor, many of the goods
that México sells to the U.S. have American content.

And if NAFTA were to be nullified, México might not
fare so badly. While the U.S. has free trade
agreements with 20 countries, México has free trade
agreements with 45.

Richardson said there are good reasons to
renegotiate NAFTA. The agreement, which was signed
in 1994, could stand to be updated. There was no
digital trade then and Richardson said some energy
issues need to be brought up to date, as well as
worker protections.

But he strongly urged that the clock on a 90-day
consultation period be started sooner rather than
later to minimize the negative effects of leaving
the agreement in limbo with Mexican elections
approaching and the U.S. losing leverage.

The consultation period would be a prelude to
renegotiating the agreement.

In addition to its role in allocating money,
Richardson said Congress can be an advocate. He
suggested lawmakers use their influence to persuade
Trump to invite Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto
to the U.S. for a symbolically important visit.

And he suggested that the State Department or
Department of Commerce take the lead on
renegotiating NAFTA.

"Keep it out of the White House," he said,
expressing concern about back-channel discussions
between Mexico's foreign minister and Trump
son-in-law Jared Kushner.

At the hearing's end, Menendez expressed hope that
friends in México get a sense that there is a
bipartisan different view toward the challenges that
confront the two countries in their relationship.

12 killed, 3 injured in crash
involving church van in Texas

By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services

At least 12 people were killed and three injured
when a pickup and a church van collided head-on in
southwestern Texas.

The crash happened Wednesday afternoon about 75
miles west of San Antonio, police said.

Police said the van was carrying 14 senior members
of the First Baptist Church of New Braunfels, and
there was one person, the driver, in the truck.

In a statement posted on the church website, church
officials said the members were returning from a
three-day retreat at the Alto Frio Baptist
Encampment in Leakey, about nine miles north of the
crash site.

Officials did not immediately say whether the lone
occupant of the pickup was among the dead or how
many of the dead were among the 14 people aboard the
church van.

Petition seeks U.S. First Lady
to pay cost of her protection

By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services

More than 200,000 people have signed an online
petition calling for U.S. First Lady Melania Trump
to leave New York City and move into the White House
or pay the cost of protecting her in the Trump
Tower.

The Change.org petition was started after a senior
White House aide indicated the president’s wife and
son, Barron, will remain in New York until the
school year ends.

"The U.S. taxpayer is paying an exorbitant amount of
money to protect the First Lady in Trump Tower,
located in New York City," the petition says. "As to
help relieve the national debt, this expense yields
no positive results for the nation and should be cut
from being funded."

The New York Police Department estimated it costs
between $127,000 and $146,000 per day to protect
Melania Trump and her son.

Comments beneath the Change.org petition highlighted
the signers’ dissatisfaction over the first family’s
use of taxpayer funds.

“Living in the White House is what you do when you
are married to the president,” one commenter
identified as Sheila Forsyth of Newport, Rhode
Island, wrote. “The tax money saved by eliminating
these extra protection expenses can be used to feed
senior citizens. Why is our tax money being spent on
people who already have more than their fair share?”

Local authorities in Florida have voiced similar
frustration at the costs of protecting the president
during his frequent visits to his Florida Mar-a-Lago
resort and golf club.

Trump launches commission
to address U.S. opioid crisis

By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services

President Donald Trump hosted a listening session
Wednesday at the White House with administration
officials, the first step in his pledge to try and
stem America’s worsening opioid addiction crisis.

Trump called the increasing number of Americans
addicted to opioids a total epidemic, and he vowed
to stop the spread of drugs across the nation.

The listening session included people who have had
family members die of drug overdoses, recovering
addicts, drug recovery specialists and New Jersey
Gov. Chris Christie, whom Trump selected to lead the
commission.

Trump introduced Christie as a very effective guy
and said the governor would be well-suited to head
up the task force. Christie focused heavily on
opioid abuse during his failed 2016 presidential
campaign and has spoken emotionally about it in the
past.

The number of opioid-involved overdose deaths has
quadrupled since 1999, according to the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention, and it estimates
that 91 people die each day from their opioid
addictions.

Between 2014 and 2015, the CDC reported a 16.4
percent increase in drug overdoses in Christie’s
home state. Christie responded to the spike by
signing a bill that requires health insurance
providers to cover treatment for substance abuse and
limits the amount of opioid pills doctors can
prescribe patients.

At a press conference last month, Christie said
addiction is not a moral failing, but rather a
disease than can be treated.

“The more that we talk about it as a disease, treat
it as a disease, regulate it as a disease, the more
people will finally get the idea that asking for
help is not a sign of weakness, but it is in fact a
sign of strength," he said.

Pakistan refuses to extradite
U.S. man for terror charges

By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services

A U.S. citizen of Pakistani origin accused of
planning a terrorist attack in New York on behalf of
the Islamic State militant group remains in Pakistan
after its high court temporarily barred his
extradition this week.

The man, Talha Haroon, 19, remains held in a
Pakistani jail awaiting more legal hearings. After
the order Monday, the Pakistan court asked Wednesday
for the Interior Ministry to provide more details
about his case.

There are no public documents concerning the charges
in Pakistan or the United States. Haroon was
arrested in Pakistan in September after allegedly
making contact with Islamic State backers and
hatching a terror plot, his lawyer said.

Haroon, who is from Pakistan’s southwestern Quetta,
the capital of Baluchistan province, reportedly left
the U.S. two years ago to join his parents, who have
been in Pakistan for the past few years.

The court ruling came in response to a petition
filed by the suspect’s father, Haroon Rashid, who
also is a U.S. citizen, and asked the High Court to
overturn a lower court recommendation in January
that Haroon be extradited to the U.S. under an
extradition treaty between the two countries.

Haroon was arrested by Pakistani law enforcement
agencies in September and put in Adiala Jail in
Rawalpindi, near the country’s capital, Islamabad.

He was reportedly lured by Islamic State recruiters
to carry out an armed operation in New York, hoping
that he would evade surveillance because of his
legal status in the U.S., his lawyer said.

His lawyer argues that Haroon would receive a fairer
trial in Pakistan.

Pakistan has come under frequent criticism from U.S.
lawmakers over its inability to curb homegrown
militancy. The government is facing threats of
increasing diplomatic isolation from some U.S.
lawmakers over its failure to counter the threat the
Pakistani militancy poses to its neighbors.

Pakistan accuses U.S. lawmakers of diplomatic
theater, saying the harsh anti-Pakistani rhetoric
belies its government's efforts to root out
extremism. Pakistani officials deny that Islamic
State has a foothold in the country.

Analysts say the Pakistani government had a
two-month window to extradite Haroon before the High
Court’s ruling.

U.S. tribes fighting against
high-price, low-quality food

By the A.M.
Costa Rica wire services

South Dakota’s Crow Creek Indian Reservation is home
to the descendants of the Dakota people, who thrived
in Minnesota before they were forced onto the
reservation in the 1860s. Crow Creek sits in the
center of the state along the Missouri River, and
its more than 1,000 square kilometers stretch across
three of the poorest counties in the United States.

There’s only one grocery store on the reservation,
said Lisa Hope-Heth, but she refuses to shop there.

“A lot of the prices are too high. Some of the meat
is not always fresh. And the bread, you know how in
some larger stores when bread doesn’t sell and it
gets stale, they take it off the shelf? I sometimes
think that we get that bread.”

She once worked as a meat cutter, so she knows old
hamburger when she sees it. She also recognizes when
meat that has been sitting on the shelf too long is
reground with slightly fresher meat, then repackaged
and put back on the shelf for sale.

When Ms. Hope-Heth needs groceries, she must either
drive 40 kilometers south to the town of Chamberlain
or 100 kilometers northwest to Pierre.

EBTs, she explains, are electronic benefits
transfers. The U.S. government’s Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program provides food benefits
to low-income individuals and families. These are
transferred electronically and accessed via a
plastic credit card.

On Crow Creek and elsewhere in Indian Country, EBTs
are used like currency to pay for favors or
services. And this means that beneficiaries often
run out of food money before the month is up.

In 2014, in an effort to eliminate food insecurity
among First Peoples, the First Nations Development
Institute began a year-long study on food pricing.
They recruited volunteers to monitor prices of basic
food commodities such as milk, bread, ground beef
and eggs on eight reservations across the country.

“What we found was that the price of food was
higher, which is a funny thing, since reservation
communities have much lower income and are much more
likely to be in poverty,” said A-dae Romero-Briones,
an associate director of research and policy for
Native Agriculture at FNDI.

At the time of the study, for example, a gallon of
milk was priced an average of $3.76 in urban centers
across America, but one South Dakota grocery store,
was charging a dollar more. Similarly, a store in
New Mexico was charging Cochiti Pueblo people nearly
$1.50 more than the national average price for a
loaf of bread.

That may, in part, explain the dearth of fresh
fruits and vegetables on Crow Creek.

The Crow Creek tribe, with help from the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services’ Indian
Health Service, provides diabetic tribal members $10
vouchers every month to buy vegetables.

When Native Americans were driven from their
homelands, they lost control of healthful and
complex food systems that had sustained them for
tens of thousands of years. The U.S. Army provided
them with basic commodities -- refined wheat flour,
salt, sugar and lard, ingredients that were alien to
Native diets but went on to become fry bread, a
salty, fried dough that is found on reservations
across the country.

Today, at least one-third of Native Americans live
on reservations and depend on government-issued
commodities and inexpensive packaged food, high in
fat, salt and chemicals, which has contributed to
alarming rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease
and cancer.

Alarmed, Crow Creek, like many tribal communities
across the country, is now working to regain control
of its food supply. Hunkpati last year launched a
fresh food initiative on the reservation to get the
community to grow its own produce and promote
healthier eating.

Today, the tribe is able to harvest its own
chokecherries and wild plums, staples of the
traditional Dakota diet. Hunkpati has held classes
to teach tribe members how to make traditional
foods, like wochapi, a thick berry sauce served with
game or fry bread, and wasna, a pounded mix of lean
dried meat, chokecherries and grains. Portable and
packed with protein and natural sugar, it was a
mainstay of the original Dakota diet.

This is
a gorgeous, new, 3-bedroom luxury home
on 2.2 flat acres in a secure, gated
community, high in the hills of
Puriscal, with stunning, 180-degree
views of the ocean, city and mountains
of the Central Valley in Costa Rica.
Centrally located in the heart of
Costa Rica, you are never more than an
hour from the Pacific beaches while
being much less than that to the
culture, shopping, services and night
life of the San José, Escazú, Santa
Ana and the whole Central Valley. The
Altos de Antigua gated community sits
at an altitude of 2,800 feet with mild
temperatures year round. Features wide
paved roads and cement culverts
throughout, a large community pool
& spa with changing rooms &
showers. The community association
fees are $42 a month ($500 annually).
This property is currently being
offered for $355,000.00 U.S.
Purchase adjoining 2.2 acre investment
lot with the home sale for $35,000.00
U.S. or separately for $55,000.00 U.S.

* Colinas del Sol is a fenced and gated
project in a quiet area.
* There are 88 clear titled lots.
* Mountain areas with great views.
* Gently sloping level areas ideal for
hobby farms, gardening, fruit trees.
* Quiet place to get away from the busy
city and beach crowds.
* All lots have gravel roads to them,
water and electricity at each.
* Lots are 5,000 sq. meters or larger,
starting at only $40,000 USD
* Located in Libertad, Guanacaste,
northwest Pacific area of Costa Rica.
* 20 minutes to the Liberia
International Airport
* 15 minutes to the Pacific Beaches
* 10 minutes to Medical Facilities
* 25 minutes to the Liberia Hospital
* 5 minutes to Vista Ridge Golf Club

Beautiful
farm in excellent location
At only an hour's drive from San José,
minutes from Guápiles, and boardering
Braulio Carrillo National Park,
Etlingera Farms is one heck of an
amazing farm. We purchased this
77-acre farm 10 years ago after many
trips, and an exhaustive search. It
has a little bit of everything we were
looking for and a whole lot of beauty.
Our average elevation of 600 meters
helps to keep Bella Vista cool year
round. This farm is nearly level with
a semi-modern 2-bedroom house. A
fairly rustic 2-bedroom caretaker's
home. And, a comfortable, 1-bedroom
cabin where we stay. We have 2 large
barns, a chicken coop, and a 3-stall
pig pen. There are two tilapia ponds
and 2 hectarias, (approximately 5
acres) of different species of
bananas. The property boarders Rio
Blanco in the rear and has 300 meters
of public road frontage. Water,
electricity, and telephone are all
serviced by public utility. Etlingera
Farms was reforested with several
thousand wood trees of different
tropical varieties. We truly believe
this farm is spectacular. Our
neighbors are selling for as much as
$20 per meter. We are negotiable,
motivated and open to offers. Our
location can be found by searching
Etlingera Farms on Google Maps. Our
webpage is www.etlingerafarms.com
and photo album can be found at www.ticorico.com

9196-4/25/17

Spectacular
Horse Ranch and Spiritual/Yoga Retreat Center For Sale

We invite you to a horseback tour of 187
acres of pristine farm land with
breathtaking vistas, including the
islands of the Gulf of Nicoya. There are
multiple springs and streams, wooded
areas, hard-wood and fruit trees,
rolling hills with a geat variety of
birds and wildlife. This property boasts
the privilege of being bordered by
thousands of acres of forest preserve
down a steep canyon, offering its own
spectacular views, which will never be
developed. The many hills provide a
builder an endless array of
possibilities for nestling buildings in
where they will have both views and
privacy. The elevation of the property
at 1,200 to1600 feet above sea level
ensures fresh breezes and ideal
year-round temperatures with a day-time
average in the low 80's for open-air
living. There is a ranch-style house
with guest house with 8 total bedrooms,
5 modern baths, huge eat-in kitchen,
landmark palm-thatched giant rancho,
stable, and storage buildings. The home
will come partially furnished, including
beds, ample dishware for large groups,
housewares, linens, washer/dryer, and
fine hard-wood hand-built cabinetry. The
remaining horses, 4 to 6 of them, will
also convey if one wishes. We are also
including a LARGE BEACH LOT in nearby
Playa Bejuco. San Rafael de Nandayure is
a tiny rural village nestled into the
mountainside above Carmona with all the
charms of the simple good life of a BLUE
ZONE. Carmona is a thriving town with a
clinic, restaurfants, shopping, and
everything else one may need. The price
of our listing Rancho Ricco is $799,000.
More information
go to www.ranchforsalecostarica.com
Call
Darin
Ricco, phone +619-846-8249 or
email: darin_ricco@hotmail.com

Brand new home with
4-plus bedrooms and 3 baths
all overlooking an incredible
180-degree view of the Pacific
Ocean and
mountains. Located only
45 minutes from the San Jose
airport and about the same
to the Pacific Ocean.
The lower level could be
used as a separate apartment
or mother-in-law setup. Home
includes HUGE master
suite, CLOSETS, custom
cabinets, granite counter
tops, high wood ceilings,
and all in an area that is
70-80 degrees year
round. Priced
at $199,000.
Completion date is
January. See the
Virtual Tour CLICK
HEREor see our
site here www.whynotcostarica.com. If you
would like to take a look at
this amazing house, please
give me a call at
Costa Rica # 506-8755-6743
or if from the States call #
509-570-1928 or email tim@whynotcostarica.com

9143-2/3/17

Costa Rica
penthouse for sale
5 -story penthouse for
sale. One of a kind penthouse on
top of the Corobici Hotel in Sabana
overlooking the Central Park and new
Soccer Stadium in San José.
Excellent location provides you easy
access to everywhere. Other
benefits include 24-hour security, 2
restaurants inside the hotel providing
1st class room service plus shared
common areas in the hotel. Commercial
license is in place. Seller will
consider owner financing. Asking
$795K U.S. Also available for
monthly rent for $3,400 per month on
an annual basis. Go to www.ThePenthouseCostaRica.com
Owners
U.S.
cell phone: 813 310-7402 Email crstratton@ymail.com

Live the dream!
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9004-4/26/17

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The opening of 32 jobs exclusively intended for
disabled people in Poder Judicial, has sparked
complaints among unionized employees who claim those
spaces are already taken.

According to Poder Judicial officials, they are just
complying with the law 8862, which requires all public
organizations to reserve 5 percent of their available
jobs for people with disabilities.

However, Freddy Solórzano, a union leader from
Asociación Nacional de Empleados Judiciales, said the
authorities are unfairly letting go people who have
occupied that position in the past, just because they
didn't plan on time.

“It all comes down to the law and the reality. First
of all the law says that the administration should
reserve 5 percent of the jobs. To reserve is something
you do before and not after. They should have complied
with it before, since 2010. They didn't. It's not the
workers fault.” he explained.

On the other hand, José Bermudez, director of human
resources at Poder Judicial explained in a statement
that the whole process has been transparent and cites
several laws with which they are apparently complying.
He also said the job openings were vacant.

A.M. Costa Rica tried to contact Bermúdez for further
information, however the press office didn't allow it,
saying all the information is in the statement.

“It is a lie. There were people working those jobs as
temporary workers, expecting to get an indefinite
contract one day. We have nothing against the
initiative of providing handicapped people with
opportunities but not at the expense of others,” the
union leader says.

Some of the jobs include the position of
administrative assistants, receptionist, janitors and
a radio technician among others. The jobs are opened
for applicants until Friday.

“We are just asking the administration to halt the
process and have a conversation with us. We need more
people working at Poder Judicial, we are not enough.
We should have the 32 people who were already there
plus 32 more.” Solórzano said.

$310,000 confiscated by drug police

By the A.M. Costa
Rica staff

Wednesday, the Policía de Control de Drogas arrested a
29-year old truck driver who was transporting about
$310,000 in cash wrapped in twelve plastic packs. The
money was hidden under the driver's seat inside an air
conditioning device.

The man also transported a cargo of steel wires,
according to police. The truck is registered in Costa
Rica. Coming from Nicaragua, the man tried to enter
the country through the Peñas Blancas border,
according to a preliminary report.

Aside from the money, the man also carried with him a
revolver along with Nicaraguan, Salvadoran and Costa
Rican currency, officials said.

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copyrighted by Consultantes Río Colorado S.A. 2017
and may not be reproduced anywhere without
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HERE for details

From Page 7:

Renovated road
seen as boost to area's tourism

By the A.M. Costa
Rica staff

La Cruz and El Jobo, two small villages located in the
northern part of the Guanacaste province, have
now a renovated road built to boost the economy in the
area.

Ruta Nacional 935, that runs for 14 kilometers with
two lanes, received a new layer of special asphalt
known as TS3. New signs were also put in place.

The works will also benefit the communities of
Tempatal, Puerto Soley and Cuajiniquil.

The improvements seek to make it easier for tourists
to get to the beaches and help the local farmers who
had trouble transporting their goods.

The works were financed thanks to an alliance between
the Municipalidad de La Cruz, the Consejo Nacional de
Vialidad and the investors of Hotel Dreams Las Mareas
and the Costa Elena project.

“It is really satisfying to see the cooperation
between the public and private sectors to benefit the
communities and their access to basic services,” said
Carlos Villalta, the minister of Public Works.

Carlos Hernández, director of the Costa Elena project,
said the amount invested by the private parties
reached $7.4 million and it makes part of their effort
to increase the social and touristic development of
the region.

“One of things that makes us proud is that, according
to Ministerio de Planificación in 2013, the access to
clean water implied a 30 percent increase in the
health development index for the people. The aqueduct
is also a work we did and then donated to the state,”
he said.